HOW TO QUALIFY FOR BOSTON MARATHON
This past week was the Boston Marathon. Every year it’s the one running event that seems to capture my attention more than anything else. There’s a mix of prestige and hoopla that always makes me wish I was there.
It’s been on my bucket list for some time but hasn’t been near the top until now.
Ideally, Grandma’s marathon goes well and Ironman Wisconsin goes well and in 2024 I’ll get to do both Boston and Kona… That’s the dream anyways.
The thing is, when I go, I want to go with a group. Races are always more fun with other people. If you want to qualify, keep reading. If someone you know wants to qualify, send this to them!
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Many people aim for Boston Qualifying, and admirably so. However, most marathon training plans are extremely running specific, which I think is an underutilization of many people’s true potential. This post will provide a brief overview of how one might utilize other methods of training to best prepare to qualify for Boston.
What does it take?
Here are the times courtesy of BAA.org, but those don’t necessarily guarantee you get in. They only accept a certain amount of athletes. Most of the time you need an extra 5 minute cushion.
This means the Male 18-34 category would be sub 2:55 and Female 18-34 sub 3:25, and so on. We need to plan on being under the cushion.
From there it seems as simple as saying we just need to run that pace for 26.2 miles. It is and it isn’t. We can apply the same training principles to the marathon. We need to understand the demands of the race.
What is the pace per mile?
How many carbohydrates am I burning?
What is the lactate (fatigue) associated at that pace?
What is the muscular damage?
etc.
There’s a lot to consider in a ~3+ hour race. But to keep it simple, here are the 5 ways I would approach a BQ Goal:
START EARLY
BIKE LONG
PLAN TO POWER WALK
GET STRONG
GET MOBILE
I’ll dive into each one below:a
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